Dont Turn Up the Light
by swiftfated
Summary: When Wendy is visited by the soul of youth, boy eternal Peter Pan, she knows something is not quite right. She must come to understand the unfortunate riddle of his being, and why it troubles him so. Eternal youth is fun by day, but alarming at nightfall. (Based on the 2003 film dir. PJ Hogan, as well as the novel Peter Pan and The Little White Bird by J.M. Barrie.)


"Wendy, you simply must continue," pleaded Michael, who sat crisscrossed on the soft nursery carpet, amongst the scattered toy blocks and books, as he absentmindedly rubbed the arm of his teddy bear.

It sat perfectly perched on his right knee, and the older sister could not imagine a more positive, familiar sight. Her other brother, nearer her age, lay with his belly to the bedcovers, hands holding his head up, glasses slipping down the sloped bridge of his nose.

"Michael, it is far past our bedtime," she noted, to which she received a few groans of protest. "Mother and Father have left me in charge while they are away," she added as an afterthought.

She was on the cusp of her fourteenth birthday, and they entrusted she could manage the small household for a few evenings. Her father, it turned out, had to leave town due to business, as he had received a handsome promotion at the bank. Of course, Mrs. Darling would have stayed to look after the little ones, had it not been for the convincing arguments her children set before her. They had filled her head with the idea of going with him, to get away from everyday responsibility if only for a very short time, to which she caved. Of course, Aunt Millicent was instructed to stop and check on them before dark, but she had already returned to her own home for the night, seeing to it that the children were safe and well fed.

"Mother and Father won't know if we stay up a little while longer," John had said next, propping his head up lazily as if still envisioning the fairytale Wendy had sewn together.

"Do not encourage him."

Wendy had tried to seem smart and authoritative in her comment, but a giggle soon left her mouth as she bent to recover long forgotten toys from the floor. She made multiple trips to the toy box, where she threw in the blocks and fake pirate hats, before shutting its lid. It would be a lie to say she did not feel somewhat sad to see the contents discarded in the toy box, knowing full well she would have to get rid of them all eventually.

"Now, off to bed with you," she shooed them from her. Michael stood up, a half scream, half giggle erupting from his throat as he dashed from the once nursery and toward his shared room with John.

"Can't catch me, can't catch me!" he cried, voice fading throughout the house as he ran further away.

John was next to hop up from the bed on which he lay, scratching his head in thought. It had been a couple of years now since his and Michael's belongings had been pushed to another vacant room, to give Wendy her own, private space. It was all talk of how his sister was now a lady, but he simply could not be bothered to understand. He often heard his parents speaking of possible suitors, and the idea of marriage behind closed doors. John had brought this up to Wendy once before, but she had no comment on the matter, thinking it absurd, and so he dropped it.

"You will finish the tale tomorrow?" he asked, eyes turning round and hopeful as he looked over at Wendy from the doorway.

"Yes, John," she had told him, smiling softly before venturing toward the window. She brought her hand up to its lock, finding it much smaller than she once believed. Wendy supposed it was all a part of her constant aging.

As she turned its latch, her blue eyes caught sight of a shadow moving from its left side. Wendy had stood there, examining the inky black sky, eyebrows drawing close together in confusion. It was much too dark to make anything out, but she could have sworn she had seen something shift beyond the window glass.

"Wendy?" John called her name softly, "is everything alright?"

He was about to leave for the night, ready to have his own mattress welcome him into sleep, but stayed watching his sister.

"Oh," she turned, her mind completely forgetting what had just happened, "yes, of course. Good night."

"Good night," was all he had said back to her, before exiting her bedroom.

Wendy had stayed there for a moment more, peering out of the stained glass window, before sighing. There was no such need to worry over imaginary things. She was on the second floor, after all, and the window was shut and locked tight. She moved toward her dresser now, pulling out a nightgown. As she dressed into proper sleep attire, she took notice of the teddy bear Michael had forgotten to grab before rushing off to sleep.

The girl smiled to herself then, plucking it from the carpet and setting it on the vanity against the wall, so that it could keep watch over her as she dreamt. It wasn't long before she turned the lights down, curling up under the thick blankets of her very own bed.

Had she not been tossing and rolling, trying to find the most comfortable spot to lay, perhaps she would have heard the latch that locked the window slowly turning. It squeaked rustily as it did so, but Wendy took no notice as she buried her head into the feathered pillow beneath her, shutting her eyes to get some much needed rest.

Perhaps it had been thirty minutes, or maybe hours before she woke at once with a startle. Wendy sat up half awake in her bed, breathing somewhat heavily as she tried to get her eyes to focus. Something had gone bump in the night, and with her luck being a light sleeper, she was alert now. The girl pushed her covers back, crawling to the foot of her bed to see what had woken her up.

The stuffed bear now lay face down on the carpet, as if it had been thrown off the vanity and toward her bed frame. She thought this strange, swearing she had laid it on the vanity before retiring, but did not think too much on its strangeness.

Sleep pulled at her once more, and again, lucky for her she did not give in to its grasp, as the nursery window was wide open.


End file.
